


Let's Just Run

by jpo2107



Category: Borderlands
Genre: Domestic Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-23 03:20:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6103141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jpo2107/pseuds/jpo2107
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wilhelm has something he wants to ask Tim. Easier in theory than in practice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let's Just Run

**Author's Note:**

> a big hug and thank you to @michaelandthegodsquad for the beta. I super appreciate your help, encouragement and edits <3

Wilhelm stares at the display case for a few moments in complete silence. The clerk at the counter looks at him, not sure if he should offer advice or assistance, and instead waits patiently for the large man to give him a sign...for anything. He finally points his index finger at the display case, at the item to his left and taps the glass gently.

“That one,” Wilhelm says quietly. “That’s the one I’ll get.” He looks at the clerk with a slight smile on his face before taking his wallet out from his back jean pocket.

~

TWO MONTHS LATER

It’s Saturday morning, Wilhelm’s been up for hours, having taken Wolf and Saint for their morning jog. The two dobermans are conked out on the kitchen floor beside their water dishes, snoring contently. Wilhelm looks at the two dogs fondly, bending over to scratch them both behind the ears before stopping at the kitchen sink to fill his glass with water. He slowly drinks the liquid down, putting the empty glass into the dishwasher before making his way upstairs to the bedroom. 

Tim is still buried under three blankets, half dead to the world, his shoulder poking out from underneath, freckles dusted over his shoulder and down his back, littered with a few newly minted bruises and hickeys from the night previous. Wilhelm grins to himself as he remembers last night, and has half a mind to wake Tim up in a similar fashion, but decides on having a shower instead. He needs to clear his head. And his nerves. 

Today may seem like a regular Saturday, but it isn’t. Not to Wilhelm. 

He turns on the shower, letting the water run for a few minutes while he peels off his sweaty clothes. He steps into the shower, adjusting the water temperature to run a little hotter, and lets out a contented noise as the water runs over his head and down his back. Wilhelm presses his forehead against the shower tile and sighs. He’s been running this scenario through his head for months, but there never seemed to be a good moment to do it. 

“You are pathetic,” Wilhelm mutters to himself as he picks up the bar of soap and starts lathering himself up. He takes a couple deep breaths, trying to calm the thrumming, nervous beat of his pulse.

Today. He would do it today. 

Suddenly Wilhelm feels two hands slide up his back and he looks over his shoulder, his face bemused.

“Thought you were sleeping?” He asks, as Tim presses his face sleepily to Wilhelm’s back.

“I was,” Tim mutters, his hands moving to Wilhelm’s front, slowly tracing his fingers through the wet tangle of his chest hair. “But I heard you come in and--”

Wilhelm turns around to face Tim, who looks up at him with a lazy smile on his face as he presses himself against Wilhelm, wrapping his arms around his thick waist. Wilhelm dips his head down to Tim’s neck, kissing him, up his neck to his earlobe, before biting softly. Tim groans, arching his body against Wilhelm’s, both their bodies slick and wet, some of the soap from Wilhelm’s torso spread across Tim’s chest. 

“I just went for a run, Tim,” Wilhelm teases, pressing Tim against the shower wall. “I’m a little tired.”

Tim laughs and shakes his head fondly, lifting his head up to kiss Wilhelm softly. 

Yeah, today is definitely going to be the day, Wilhelm thinks to himself. 

~

Tim is in the garden, checking on his tomatoes and cucumbers, and Wilhelm is pacing through the living room and kitchen, running a nervous hand through his silvery hair, before getting annoyed and quickly tying the loose strands into a small bun at the back of his head. He looks out the kitchen window, and sees Tim sitting amidst the greenery, carefully plucking and inspecting each vegetable before gently putting into his basket beside him. He wipes his hand across his forehead before continuing, never noticing Wilhelm watching him from instead the house. Never noticing the mixture of love and apprehension on Wilhelm’s face before he goes back to pacing around the main floor of the house like a caged animal. Wolf watches him pace, the doberman’s eyes following Wilhelm as he makes his third pass around the kitchen. 

Wilhelm stops his frantic pace and looks down at Wolf. Wolf looks back up at him.

“Don’t look at me like that, alright?” Wilhelm mutters. Wolf gives a little sniff before nuzzling down on his doggie bed and Wilhelm can’t help but feel judged by his dog. 

He looks back out the window and sees Saint pressed against Tim’s side, his nose on Tim’s leg, trying to steal a cucumber from Tim’s hands. Tim’s laughing and pushing Saint’s nose gently away, before Saint gives a playful bark and licks at Tim’s hand. Wilhelm’s heart feels like it might burst in his chest and he looks away in a panic. He feels the lump in his jean pocket, his fingers grasping the outline of it tightly, and he takes a shaky breath in. He remembers that he made a dinner reservation for tonight, and he resolves to ask Tim tonight. At dinner. It’ll be fine.

 

~

It was not fine. 

Dinner was...well it was good, Wilhelm supposed grumpily, though at that price, it better have been. He had been practicing what he was going to say to Tim, all afternoon, and on the drive to the restaurant. But as soon as they sat down, Wilhelm felt his throat close up, and he couldn’t get the words out. There were too many people in the restaurant, it was too noisy, it was the opposite of what he wanted. Tim had enjoyed himself, kissing Wilhelm on the cheek on the way back to the car, thanking him for the night out, and Wilhelm had mentally kicked himself for being a huge chickenshit.

When they arrived home, Tim had pressed himself against Wilhelm’s chest, whispering how sexy Wilhelm looked in his suit, and how he’d wished they had snuck off to the bathroom in between dinner courses and the pensive side of Wilhelm’s brain promptly shut off for the rest of the evening.

~

Wilhelm decides that he’s going to let his actions speak for him. He plans it out while Tim’s out for the day, arranging their bedroom in the most romantic way he can think of, even though he feels relatively silly spreading rose petals on their bed, he thinks that Tim will appreciate the gesture, and, god willing, understand what Wilhelm is trying to ask him, between the flowers and candles.

It starts off promising, when Tim arrives back home. He gasps as he’s led into the bedroom by Wilhelm, his eyes big and bright as he takes in the lit candles and the scent of flowers in the bedroom. Wilhelm feels confident that things are going pretty well, as he slowly undresses Tim and lays him on the bed, surrounded by rose petals, and Wilhelm is momentarily distracted by how beautiful Tim looks. Tim tugs on Wilhelm’s belt buckle, a shy laugh escaping his lips, and Wilhelm is thankful for the dim lighting in the bedroom, otherwise Tim would see the deep flush of red blooming across his cheeks, and his eyes filled with affection for the younger man.

Once Wilhelm is finally undressed for Tim’s liking, he pushes Tim back onto the bed, soft laughter bubbling in his throat as Tim wiggles seductively on the bedsheet, trailing his fingers through the petals near his hair, smiling up at Wilhelm and then gasping when he feels Wilhelm’s hands on his hips. 

Wilhelm’s lips are trailing down Tim’s chest, trying not to smile at the breathy moans coming from Tim’s mouth, when suddenly Tim’s whole body tenses. Wilhelm pauses and lifts his head to look at him, noticing the extreme look of discomfort on Tim’s face.

“You okay?” he asks, concerned. 

Tim lets out an uncomfortable giggle. “Um. Quick question...what type of flower am I lying on right now?”

“Rose petals, I think?”

“Oh no,” Tim moans, sitting up quickly and trying to brush off the offending petals sticking to his skin. “Wil--turn on the lights please.” His voice is calm and steady, but it doesn’t belay the panic Wilhelm feels as he quickly reaches for the light switch.

Tim’s entire back is a harsh red, covered with angry bumps and welts. Wilhelm’s face is ashen as he covers his mouth with his hand. Tim looks over his shoulder casually and sighs. 

“Sorry,” Tim says, smiling resignedly at Wilhelm, “I should have told you that I’m allergic to roses. My fault.”

“You’re--?” Wilhelm stutters slightly. “Get dressed, I need to take you to the hospital.”

Tim shakes his head as he gets off the bed and heads towards the bathroom, and Wilhelm cringes at Tim’s entire back, ass and legs, covered in red, blotchy bumps. 

“Wil, listen, I’m fine,” Tim says reassuringly from the bathroom. “It’s just hives.”

Just HIVES?, Wilhelm thinks to himself, covering his face with his hands. I’ve maimed and damaged my boyfriend, GREAT. 

“I just need to take an antihistamine, and maybe an oatmeal bath,” Tim continues, poking his head out of the bathroom. He sees the look on Wilhelm’s face and his eyebrows raise in concern. “Wil, are you okay?”

“Am I okay?” Wilhelm repeats, looking at Tim in disbelief. “Look what I just did to you!”

Tim shakes his head and beckons Wilhelm over to where he’s standing. When Wilhelm finally reaches him, Tim give him a hug, but he just stands there, his arms by his sides. He doesn’t want to touch Tim and make things even worse than they already are.

“I appreciate the gesture, honey,” Tim whispers in Wilhelm’s ear. “Really. Very sweet. Next time just don’t...get roses?” He lets out a little chuckle, but Wilhelm doesn’t respond, his brow furrowed in concern.

“I’ll just...let me go get the oatmeal,” Wilhelm says after a few minutes, and leaves the bedroom.

~

While Tim’s soaking in his oatmeal bath, Wilhelm is sitting on their bed, after clearing out the candles and the rose petals and changing the bedsheets, he’s staring at the small box in his hand. His large fingers flex over the top of it, and he angrily gets up from the bed and shoves it inside a pair of his socks in his drawer. 

He barely hears Tim leave the bathroom, still consumed by his angry, self-loathing thoughts. Tim touches his arm gently, and when Wilhelm looks down at him, he smiles so sweetly at Wilhelm, who thinks to himself, I don’t deserve this.

Almost like he can sense the dark thoughts swirling around in his brain, Tim takes Wilhelm’s hand and presses his lips to his fingers, leaving a soft kiss on each one. Wilhelm sighs, pressing a kiss to the top of Tim’s head.

“How’s your back?” he asks, gruffly, his voice muffled by Tim’s hair.

“It’s fine, Wil,” Tim replies, and Wilhelm can feel Tim’s smile on his bicep. “I could use help rubbing some lotion on, though.” Tim cranes his head upwards and smiles cheekily at Wilhelm. 

Wilhelm smiles back, though the thought still lingers in the back of his head, even as Tim spreads out on his stomach on their bed, about how much he doesn’t deserve this. Or Tim.

I’m so stupid, Wilhelm thinks to himself. So. Stupid.

~

Wilhelm pushes all thoughts of proposal out of his mind. Too much pressure, he thinks. He and Tim have a good thing going, why complicate it?

He doesn’t stop carrying the tiny box with him everywhere though, tucked away in the inside pocket of his leather jacket. He tells himself that it’s for safe-keeping, that he doesn’t want to lose it in the chaos that is their house. He almost fools himself into believing that.

~

Wilhelm’s anxious a lot of the time now, plagued by recurring nightmares of proposals gone wrong, Tim rejecting him in cruel ways (which is how Wilhelm knows it's a nightmare--Tim isn't cruel to anyone--but it still doesn’t hurt any less during). Wilhelm wakes up in a cold sweat after one particularly terrible dream, a proposal in a hot air balloon, of all things. The balloon pops and he jerks awake before the basket hits the ground, his breathing heavy and strained. He groans and sinks back into the mattress, and tries to convince himself that he would never propose in a hot air balloon, remembering that Tim is afraid of heights.

Wilhelm sighs and rubs his eyes angrily before quietly hauling himself out of the bed, careful not to disturb Tim’s sleep. He looks down at Tim, sleeping on his stomach, head half under one of his pillows. Even asleep, he’s so adorable that it’s hard for Wilhelm to turn his gaze away, but he eventually does and makes his way downstairs. Saint and Wolf gaze up at him from their doggie beds, and both get up and make their way over to Wilhelm sitting on the couch in the living room. Saint puts his chin on Wilhelm’s knee and Wolf curls up beside Wilhelm on the couch.

Wilhelm looks down at Wolf, raising an eyebrow. “You’re not supposed to be on the couch, buddy.” He sighs and strokes behind Wolf’s ear, letting out a chuckle as Saint whines, nudging his other hand. 

“Well, if this doesn’t work out with Tim, at least I have you two, right?” he mutters, as he pets both of them. It’s dark in the living room, so it might be his eye playing tricks on him, but Wilhelm almost feels like both dogs are glaring at him.

~

Long car drives usually soothe Wilhelm when he’s feeling troubled. The stretch of highway before his eyes, the vastness of the trees and fields as he drives by, and the comforting sounds of Pantera blasting through the car stereo system. 

Unfortunately, Tim did not agree with him on the latter.

Midway through Vulgar Display of Power, Tim gently turns the volume down on “This Love,” a grimace on his face until the music is a low hum. Wilhelm bites back a smile and drums his fingers on the steering wheel in mock-annoyance. 

“Sorry,” Tim says with a shy grin. “Just a...little early for thrash metal, Wil.”

Wilhelm hurumps under his breath while Tim fiddles with the stereo dials, trying to find a radio station. His eyes widen slightly as Tim turns up the volume and the syrupy sweet musical notes of a pop song hit his eardrums. 

Tim catches the look of horror on Wilhelm’s face and laughs. “What? We just had Glower Hour, now it’s time for something a little more cheerful.”

“Tim, please,” Wilhelm pleads, a frown forming on his face. “Don’t do this to me.”

Tim ignores Wilhelm and shimmies a bit in his seat, silently mouthing along with the lyrics of the song, a silly smile on his lips as he looks over at Wilhelm, pointing a finger in his direction as he sings the overly-mushy lyrics. The sunlight filtering through the car window catches on Tim’s skin, casting a soft glow around him, every freckle on his cheeks pronounced, every strand of hair noticeable, the pink of his lips as his mouth moves along with the song. 

“Marry me.” Before Wilhelm can stop himself, the words slip out from his lips.

Tim reaches over to turn the radio volume down, still smiling. “Sorry, Wil. Too loud, what did you say?”

Wilhelm doesn’t respond right away, instead pulling the car onto the side of the road, killing the ignition, still gripping the wheel tightly. He can feel the flush on his cheeks, his breathing becoming erratic, his heart pounding in his chest. His fingers flex around the steering wheel as he takes a shaky breath in. 

“Wil?” Tim asks, his voice full of concern. “Are you okay? Do you need me to dri--”

“Marry me, Tim.” Wilhelm cuts him off mid-sentence, finally turning to look him in the eye. “I mean, uh. Please. If you...want to.”

“What?” Tim asks, his eyes very wide, his cheeks turning pink. “Wil, are you--?” He lets out a choked gasp as Wilhelm reaches inside his leather jacket and pulls out a small ring box, holding it tightly in his hand. He slowly opens the box, revealing a simple, silver engagement band, shining brightly as a sunbeam filters into the car, dancing across the smooth surface. 

Tim’s hand is pressed against his mouth as he looks down at the ring and back at Wilhelm, tears forming at the edge of his eyes. He tries to blink them back, but a few tears spill over onto his cheeks, and he hastily wipes them away. He swallows, looking Wilhelm in the eye, his bottom lip trembling.

Wilhelm has never felt like he’s simultaneously going to throw up and jump out of his skin at the same time, but it’s not a feeling he recommends to anyone, ever. 

“Tim?” He asks, his voice shaky, and he immediately clears his throat. “You don’t have to, uh. Answer right--” And Wilhelm is cut off by a loud sob before Tim’s lips are pressed against his own. He can feel wetness on his cheeks, and he’s not entirely sure if the tears belong solely to Tim. 

Tim finally pulls away from Wilhelm, his eyes shiny and wet. He gives him a shaky smile before replying. ”Yes.”

“Really?” Wilhelm lets out the breath he was holding in one relieved whoosh. 

Tim releases a breathless laugh, playfully smacking Wilhelm on the shoulder. “Yes! Of course, yes! A million times, yes!” He giggles, still wiping tears from his cheeks as Wilhelm puts the ring onto his finger, and Tim beams at him, leaning in for another kiss. He pulls away only to untangle himself from his seat belt before crawling onto Wilhelm’s lap, reaching down for the lever to recline the seat. Wilhelm laughs, their noses bumping together as the seat is lowered, his large hands settling on Tim’s hips, squeezing lightly.

“I saw a sign for a rest stop a mile ahead,” Tim whispers into his ear, slowly rocking his hips into Wilhelm’s, grinning as the larger man grunts out a strangled moan. “But first, let me give you a little preview, husband-to-be.” Tim’s voice catches slightly as Wilhelm brings his hand up to cup Tim’s chin, bringing their faces together, their kisses slow and tender. 

It takes a little while to get to the rest stop, but they get there, eventually.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!


End file.
